Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This study contributes to a better working knowledge of the equipment being used in a well-established combustion lab. In particular, several constant-volume combustion properties (e.g., time ignition delay, flame propagation, and more) are examined to deduce any buoyancy effects between fuel and air mixtures and to develop a method aimed at minimizing such effects. This study was conducted on an apparatus designed to model the phenomena occurring within a single channel of a wave rotor combustor, which consists of a rotating cylindrical pre-chamber and a fixed rectangular main combustion chamber. Pressure sensors monitor the internal pressures within the both chambers at all times, and two slow-motion videography techniques visually capture combustion phenomena occurring within the main chamber. A new recirculation pump system has been implemented to mitigate stratification within the chamber and produce more precise, reliable results. The apparatus was used in several types of experiments that involved the combustion of various hydrocarbon fuels in the main chamber, including methane, 50%-50% methane-hydrogen, hydrogen, propane, and 46.4%-56.3% methane-argon. Additionally, combustion products created in the pre-chamber from a 1.1 equivalence ratio reaction between 50%-50% methane-hydrogen and air were utilized in the issuing pre-chamber jet for all hot jet ignition tests. In the first set of experiments, a spark plug ignition source was used to study how combustion events travel through the main chamber after different mixing methods were utilized – specifically no mixing, diffusive mixing, and pump circulation mixing. The study reaffirmed that stratification between fuel-air mixtures occurs in the main chamber through the presence of asymmetrical flame front propagation. Allowing time for mixing, however, resulted in more symmetric flame fronts, broader pressure peaks, and reduced combustion time in the channel. While 30 seconds of diffusion helped, it was found that 30 seconds of pumping (at a rate of 30 pumps per 10 seconds) was the most effective method at reducing stratification effects in the system. Next, stationary hot jet ignition experiments were conducted to compare the time between jet injection and main chamber combustion and the speed of the resulting shockwaves between cases with no mixing and 30 seconds of pump mixing. Results continued to show an improvement with the pump cases; ignition delay times were typically shorter, and shock speeds stayed around the same, if not increased slightly. These properties are vital when studying and developing wave rotor combustors, and therefore, reducing stratification (specifically by means of a recirculation system) should be considered a crucial step in laboratory models such as this one. Lastly, experiments between a fueled main chamber and rotating pre-chamber helped evaluate the leakage rate of the traversing hot jet ignition experimental setup paired with the new pump system. In its current form, major leaks are inevitable when attempting traversing jet experiments, especially with the pump’s suction action drawing sudden large plumes of outside air into the main chamber. To minimize leaks, gaps between the pre-chamber and main chamber should be reduced, and the contact surface between the two chambers should be more evenly distributed. Also, the pump system should only be operated as long as needed to evenly distribute the fuel-air mixture, which approximately happens when the main chamber’s total volume has been circulated through the system one time. Therefore, a new pump system with half of the original system’s volume was developed in order to decrease the pumping time and lower the risk of leaks.

When studying pressure-gain combustion and wave rotor combustors, it is vital that any experimental model accurately reflect the real world conditions/applications being studied; this not only confirms previous computational and analytical work, but also provides new insights into how these concepts and devices work in real life. However, mixture stratification can have a noticeable effect on multiple combustion properties, including flame propagation, pressure, ignition time delay, and more, and this is especially true in constant-volume combustion chambers. Because it is beneficial to model wave rotor systems using constant-volume combustors such as what is employed in the IUPUI Combustion and Propulsion Research Laboratory, these stratification effects much be taken into account and reduced if possible. This study sought to find an effective method to reduce stratification in a rectangular constant-volume combustion chamber by means of manual recirculation pump. Spark-ignited flames were first produced in the chamber itself and studied using schlieren and color videography techniques as well as quantitative pressure histories. After determining the pump's effectiveness in reducing stratification, it was next employed when a hot jet of combustion products from a separate combustion chamber was used as an ignition source instead of the spark plug - a process typically employed in real wave rotor combustors. Lastly, the pump was used to study the leakage from the system for future test cases in order to offer further recommendations on how to effectively use the recirculation system. This process found that key properties significant to wave rotor development, such as time ignition delay, were affected by these stratification effects in past studies that did not account for this detail. As such, the pump has been permanently incorporated into the wave rotor model, as stratification is a vital. Additionally, significant fuel leakage is possible during rotational pre-chamber cases, and this should be address before proceeding with such experiments in the future. To combat this, the pump system has been reduced in volume, and suggestions have been provided on how to better seal the main rectangular chamber in the future.

<p dir="ltr">This study contributes to research involving wave rotor combustors by studying the</p><p dir="ltr">development of a hot jet issuing from a cylindrical pre-combustion chamber. The pre-chamber was</p><p dir="ltr">developed to provide a hot fuel-air mixture as an ignition source to a rectangular combustion</p><p dir="ltr">chamber, which models the properties of a wave rotor channel. The pre-combustion chamber in</p><p dir="ltr">this study was rebuilt for study and placed in a new housing so that buoyancy effects could be</p><p dir="ltr">studied in tandem with other characteristics. The effectiveness of this hot jet is estimated by using</p><p dir="ltr">devices and instrumentation to measure properties inside the pre-chamber under many different</p><p dir="ltr">conditions. The properties tracked in this study include maximum pressure, the pressure and time</p><p dir="ltr">at which an aluminum diaphragm ruptures, and the moment a developed flame reaches a precise</p><p dir="ltr">location within the chamber. The pressure is tracked through use of a high-frequency pressure</p><p dir="ltr">transducer, the diaphragm rupture moment is captured with a high-speed video camera, and the</p><p dir="ltr">flame within the pre-chamber is detected by a custom-built ionization probe. The experimental</p><p dir="ltr">apparatus was used in three configurations to study any potential buoyancy effects and utilized</p><p dir="ltr">three different gaseous fuels, including a 50%-50% methane-hydrogen blend, pure methane, and</p><p dir="ltr">pure hydrogen. Additionally, the equivalence ratio within the pre-chamber was varied from values</p><p dir="ltr">of 0.9 to 1.2, and the initial pressure was set to either 1.0, 1.5, or 1.75 atm. In all cases, combustion</p><p dir="ltr">was initiated from a spark plug, causing a flame to develop until the diaphragm breaks, releasing</p><p dir="ltr">a hot jet of fuel and air from the nozzle inserted into the pre-chamber. In the pressure transducer</p><p dir="ltr">tests, it was found that hydrogen produced the highest pressures and fastest rupture times, and</p><p dir="ltr">methane produced the lowest pressures and slowest rupture times. The methane-hydrogen blend</p><p dir="ltr">provided a middle ground between the two pure fuels. An equivalence ratio of 1.1 consistently</p><p dir="ltr">provided the highest pressure values and fastest rupture out of all tested values. It was also found</p><p dir="ltr">that the orientation has a noticeable impact on both the pressure development and rupture moment</p><p dir="ltr">as higher maximum pressures were achieved when the chamber was laid flat in the “vertical jet”</p><p dir="ltr">orientation as compared to when it was stood upright in the “horizontal jet” orientation.</p><p dir="ltr">Additionally, increasing the initial pressure strongly increased the maximum developed pressure</p><p dir="ltr">but had minimal impact on the rupture moment. The tests done with the ion probe demonstrated</p><p dir="ltr">that an equivalence ratio of 1.1 produces a flame that reaches the ion probe faster than an</p><p dir="ltr">equivalence ratio of 1.0 for the methane-hydrogen blend. In its current form, the ion probe setup</p><p>18</p><p dir="ltr">has significant limitations and should continue to be developed for future studies. The properties</p><p dir="ltr">analyzed in this study deepen the understanding of the processes that occur within the pre-chamber</p><p dir="ltr">and aid in understanding the conditions that may exist in the hot jet produced by it as the nozzle</p><p dir="ltr">ruptures. The knowledge gained in the study can also be applied to develop models that can predict</p><p dir="ltr">other parameters that are difficult to physically measure.</p>